These are the must-have PlayStation games we want to see on PS5

The PlayStation 5 is almost here, and although Sony has already announced a number of games for it, there are still plenty of announcements yet to come. We’ve rounded up a list of the 20 games we want to see on the PS5, including a few remasters of the best PS4 games. We’re not including any games from the PS5 Future of Gaming event because, well, they’ve already been announced. All of our picks are based on speculation, though there’s some significant evidence to back up a few.

All images outside of the “PS4 remasters” category are taken from previous entries in their respective series.

Further reading

• PS4 vs. PS5
• How much will the PS5 cost?
• Xbox Series X vs. PS5

PS4 remasters

The Last of Us: Part 2

In 2013, Naughty Dog released The Last of Us just months before the PlayStation 4’s launch, and the game was subsequently ported to the system the following year. We fully expect this to also happen with The Last of Us: Part II, which released just a few weeks ago. Given Naughty Dog’s universal critical acclaim and the technical capabilities of the PS5, The Last of Us: Part II would help to show new purchasers just why they invested in a next-generation console. And we wouldn’t be opposed to the original game getting another new coat of paint, either.

Death Stranding

To be perfectly honest, we were surprised when Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding got announced for a 2019 release at all and fully expected the game to launch for PS5 alongside the PS4 version. That said, a title from such an acclaimed director is a shoo-in for a PlayStation 5 port, and given the realistic visual style being used to render popular stars like Norman Reedus and Léa Seydoux, higher resolution and better lighting can only improve things. Plus, the game is coming to PC soon, meaning the PS4 release should scale with the PS5’s hardware.

Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima comes late in the PS4’s life, launching after The Last of Us Part II. Sucker Punch’s feudal Japan action-adventure game is stylish and violent without being bombastic, and the short demonstrations we’ve seen thus far have highlighted a ruthlessly efficient combat system that ditches the flashier moves of other samurai-style games like Nioh or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. The result is a playable version of Seven Samurai and one we want to see in 8K. Like the other rumored games, it’s a pretty safe bet that Ghost of Tsushima will show up on PS5.

Final Fantasy VII Remake

Square Enix is taking a bizarre approach to releasing Final Fantasy VII Remake, beginning with an opening episode that only covers events up through Midgar. Still, Square has delivered on the promise of fleshing out the world, with the first release clocking in somewhere between 30 and 40 hours. It should be a few years before we see episode two, and considering the PS5 is launching later this year, the first episode is all but confirmed for Sony’s upcoming console.

Action

God of War 2

Perhaps no PlayStation franchise in history experience such a successful reinvention as God of War, which ditched the combo-based battles and over-the-top violence for something that felt more mature, more nuanced, and more fun to play. There is little doubt that Sony Santa Monica is currently working on a sequel, and given that the previous game ditched Greek gods for Norse mythology, the possibilities are essentially endless. Could Kratos go toe-to-toe with Thor or even Odin, and will the world be destroyed in the process? We’ll likely find out sooner rather than later, given the huge sales numbers put up by 2018’s game.

Nier 3

2017 saw the release of tremendous games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, but Square Enix, PlatinumGames, and director Yoko Taro still managed to attract attention with Nier: Automata, a surprising game that told an emotional existential story amid plenty of robot-killing action. It was the first game from Taro to garner much critical praise and was a sales success for Square Enix, and we already know a prequel is in the works in the form of Nier: Replicant. We don’t know, however, if we’ll be getting a sequel.

Devil May Cry 6

Speaking of games that surprised us, Devil May Cry 5 was a far better action game than just about anyone was anticipating, particularly considering it had been more than a decade since the underwhelming Devil May Cry 4 released. The sequel not only gave Dante and Nero more advanced and intuitive move-sets, but wrapped it up in a terrific story that brought together fan-favorite characters for an epic showdown. After the way it wrapped up, Devil May Cry 6 could be a very different game, and it’s one we can’t wait to master on PlayStation 5.

Bloodborne 2

Perhaps the greatest game that developer From Software has ever made, Bloodborne took the Dark Souls framework and tossed it into a terrifying, Lovecraftian nightmare filled with dangerous creatures. It felt somewhat limited by the PS4’s hardware, running at 30 frames per second and suffering from some long loading times, but the major boost offered by the PS5 should remedy those issues in a sequel. That is, if we get a sequel. From Software is hard at work on Elden Ring, that much we known, and the palate for Souls-likes may be a little dry between that and the Demon’s Souls remake.

Grand Theft Auto 6

Sony confirmed that Grand Theft Auto 5 will launch on next-gen consoles, which is crazy considering the original game released on the PS3 and Xbox 360. This enhanced version will offer a new life to Grand Theft Auto Online, sure, but we want to see a brand-new game in the series. Rockstar is in the business of releasing generation-defining games, dating back to the days of the original PlayStation. The PS5 should be no different.

Action-adventure

Syphon Filter

Sony, how could you have forgotten about your once-beloved stealth-action series, Syphon Filter? It has been more than 12 years since the release of Logan’s Shadow, and little news has been offered on the return of Syphon Filter since then. We’ve gotten some teases, including a possible crossover with Days Gone, but we want to get back to the classic spy gameplay that made the series great. With very few espionage games left — unless Splinter Cell finally makes a comeback — it would serve an audience that has been waiting for a new spy thriller since Metal Gear Solid V released in 2015.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Sony recently announced Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which is neither an expansion nor sequel. Similar in scope to Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Mile Morales seems like a smaller side story. In short, we’re still waiting for Spider-Man 2. It’s inevitable that the game will receive a proper sequel, after becoming the fastest-selling PS4 exclusive at launch (a title that’s now held by The Last of Us Part II).

Shooters

Killzone

The PS4 launch game Killzone: Shadow Fall ended on a huge cliffhanger, with a single bullet possibly changing the entire course of the war between the ISA and Helghast. Though its campaign and multiplayer didn’t reinvent the wheel, they were still well-designed and showcased the power of the then-new system. A sequel could do the same for the PS5, though Guerilla’s preoccupation with a Horizon sequel means it would likely have to be developed by a different studio. Still, we need to know what happens next in the war, and if we’ve been fighting on the wrong side this whole time.

BioShock

Another shooter franchise we haven’t heard from in a long time, BioShock probably could have ended with Infinite’s universe-blending twist, but there is still so much left to explore in 2K Games’ acclaimed series. Whether it takes us back to Columbia, Rapture, or into an entirely new world, we want to meet more curious and tortured characters, but we will likely be doing it without Ken Levine and his team at the helm. Now part of the much smaller Ghost Story Games, Levine is focused on creating smaller narrative adventures, but BioShock 2 taught us that other creators could make a great BioShock, as well.

Wolfenstein III

MachineGames certainly knows what it’s doing with the Wolfenstein series — the underwhelming spinoff Youngblood being an exception — and the stakes have only gotten higher with each subsequent game. BJ Blazkowicz is now an elderly man, but that isn’t going to stop him from taking a shotgun and a hatchet to the skull of every Nazi he encounters. His enemies will likely include a few robots and even Mecha-Hitler, as well, and we can’t wait for the chance to dismantle the Fourth Reich and stomp its corpse into a bloody pulp on the bottom of our boots.

Role-playing

Persona 6

He’s the Joker, baby! After the enormous critical success enjoyed by Persona 5, expectations are soaring through the roof for a sequel. As with all great games in the Megami Tensei franchise, it’s better for us to know as little as possible going into the game, and we’re confident that Atlus won’t let us down. Given the sheer size of the games and fans’ standards, however, we’re betting it will still be a few years before we see Persona 6, and we’ll have to play the countless spinoff games while we wait. Atlus skipped the PS3 generation entirely with the Persona series, so hopefully we see at least one mainline game on the PS5.

Monster Hunter

Capcom’s best-selling game of all time was also the grand return of Monster Hunter to home consoles, and that’s where the franchise is likely going to stay in the future. Monster Hunter: World’s sheer scale — only made greater with the Iceborne expansion — made it a role-playing game that could be enjoyed for hundreds of hours, and a sequel only needs to give players more of what they loved the first time. That means dozens of powerful monsters to battle, adorable cat companions, and plenty of weapon varieties to try out in the field.

Starfield

Bethesda Game Studios is doing something, that much is for sure. What the studio is doing, though, we don’t know. At E3 2018, Bethesda announced Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI, and both should have the scale of any normal Bethesda release. All we know about the two is that Starfield is coming before The Elder Scrolls VI. We’re confident the latter will be great, but we’re much more excited for Starfield. Given Bethesda’s history of producing vast worlds with deep lore, it’ll be interesting to see what the studio does with an IP other than The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.

Dragon Quest XII

The Dragon Quest franchise completely skipped the PS3 generation after several successful releases on the PS2. The JRPG originator showed back on PS4 with Dragon Quest XI, and although it’s great, we need a new mainline game. It’s been three years since the previous release already, and given the franchise’s four- to five-year development cadence, we should see something soon. At the very least, we hope Square Enix doesn’t decide to skip the PS5 entirely.

Fighting

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale 2

So, Sony has kind of announced this one already, though in form of Destruction AllStars. A pretty clear reference to the original PlayStation All-Stars, Destruction AllStars has been confirmed for the PlayStation 5, though no other consoles. It’s a mash-up of Overwatch and Twisted Metal, where two teams face off against each other with death machines masquerading as vehicles. Still, we’d love to see a proper sequel to PlayStation All-Stars. Sony certainly has enough brand recognition to make a sequel work with the PS4’s massive install base, and a true competitor to Smash Bros. is sorely needed.

Sports and racing

MLB: The Show

The best sports franchise around today is also exclusive to PlayStation, and Sony is almost certainly going to continue MLB: The Show as we move to the PS5. Already lauded for its incredibly realistic visuals –both for players and environments — the addition of ray tracing and even higher resolution will make it even more difficult to tell the game from a live broadcast on ESPN. Its “Road to the Show” mode remains a favorite, letting you build a player up from AA through the Major Leagues, and is more than involved enough to keep baseball fans happy until the next year’s game comes out.